Are MSE "tips" to get discounts spoiling it for genuine customers

Pound

I'm talking particularly about the tips that appears on MSE's Facebook page, such as:

* Sign up for a Waitrose card and get a free coffee without even having to buy anything
* Get a free O2 SIM just to get the Priority app for discounts and freebies.

I'm a genuine O2 and Waitrose (occasionally) customer. Now I find that the freebies and £1 lunch on O2 have gone and I need to finish my shopping before I can get the free coffee.

Even after Waitrose changed the offer to make it for paying customers only, MSE are posting videos telling people to buy a brussell sprout to get around it. All that is likely achieve is for Waitrose to pull the offer entirely including customers who genuinely shopped at Waitrose.

Shouldn't MSE have a responsibility to not encourage people to 'pile in' to offers without paying a penny which just spoils it for everyone?

pogofish

I don't think Waitrose or O2 are part of MSE, so your question is redundant in this forum.

The Forum Policy board is maybe a more appropriate to ask?

DigForVictory

Waitrose offered a free brew to all cardholders before MSE put it in the weekly email & Waitrose stood by the deal.

I reckon if a business decides to reward/encourage/support loyalty & finds MSE broadcast the good news, that works for both the business & the consumer. Says she with a steadily growing collection of bags for life as I can't be bothered wrestling with a sprout when I just need a brew, and I'd bet serious money I'm not the only one.

Sometimes, a business is caught on the hop (ahem Tesco & their bank account) but usually MSE check first - and include a caveat if numbers are finite. Works for the business *and* the consumer - I'd say MSE tips improve the customer experience.

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi Pound

It's our job to show everyone how to save money in any way we can

System

Pound wrote: »

Shouldn't MSE have a responsibility to not encourage people to 'pile in' to offers without paying a penny which just spoils it for everyone?

I feel the same way about the competitions board. Forum users retrieve the answers to competitions and enter, despite not being a genuine user/listener/reader/etc of the product.

Surely the idea of (for example) a Puzzler competition is for the magazine's readers to have fun and enter, and/or for the magazine to up its readership by enticing potential buyers with competitions which offer prize money. Genuine readers will have considerably less chance of winning if the competition is inundated with hundreds if not thousands of random people on the internet who want nothing to do with the magazine except to win the prize money.

But while I disagree with the 'get something for nothing' culture which seems to be prevalent on large parts of this site, the onus should be on the company themselves to ensure that the offers and prizes go to genuine customers or readers only.

maisie_cat

MSE_Andrea wrote: »

Hi Pound

It's our job to show everyone how to save money in any way we can

The problem with "playing the game" is that it's a very short term approach aimed at individual satisfaction rather than the long term effect of the behavior that is promoted.
There is a difference between showing people how to get the best deal rather than abusing the loophole in a system.
As soon as a loophole is made public and abused it's watered down or stopped but some of these things have actually led to businesses closing down.

Biggles

We are genuine customers!

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi, to answer the post that's been removed, a company's job is to make money out of its customers, a customer's job is to prevent that - legally.

MSE is about saving people money legally.

Pound

MSE_Andrea wrote: »

Hi, to answer the post that's been removed, a company's job is to make money out of its customers, a customer's job is to prevent that - legally.

MSE is about saving people money legally.

But if MSE encourages people to take advantage of offers and is pulled as a result, doesn't it many people who were enjoying those offers before MSE started advertising it will find they're actually spending more money in contrary to MSE's aim?